Fig. 2

Heterogeneous tumor subpopulations differ in their glycolytic metabolic capacity. a Schematic diagram depicting the enzymes which catalyze the metabolic reactions that comprise the glycolytic pathway. b Western blot analysis comparing the expression of the glucose uptake receptor GLUT1/SLC2A1 and several glycolytic enzymes (PFKP, ALDOA, GAPDH, ENO1, PKM2, and LDH) in CD133/PROM1^LOW and CD133/PROM1^HIGH patient-derived GBM cells. Graph represents densitometry quantification of western blots from three independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed using two-sided students t-test. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ns = non-significant. c Glucose uptake capacity was compared in CD133/PROM1^LOW and CD133/PROM1^HIGH patient-derived GBM cells by monitoring the accumulation of intracellular 2-NBDG through measuring the fluorescent intensity. Extracellular lactate levels were quantified in CD133/PROM1^LOW and CD133/PROM1^HIGH patient-derived GBM cells using a lactate assay and normalized to total protein concentration. Statistical analysis was performed using two-sided students t-test. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ns = non-significant. d Bioinformatic analysis of mRNA expression from 91 GBM biospecimens from the TGCA pilot (Nature, 2008). Pearson correlation between the expression of glycolytic enzymes (PFKP, GAPDH, and LDHB) and stemness markers (CD133/PROM1 and SOX2) was performed and Pearson’s r correlation coefficients were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using two-sided student’s t-test and exact p values are given.